Thank You, Mr. Falker
by Patricia Polacco
Key Vocabulary
Never Give Up
Determination
Perseverance
Encourage Others
Drizzled: lightly poured over
Ladle: a spoon with a little bowl on the end
Twilight: time of day when the sky is just barely lit
as the sun is setting
Miracle: a wonderful or remarkable event or thing
Torture: causing pain…sometimes physical,
sometimes mental…when something feels
too hard to do
Paragraph: Several sentences on the same topic
Odyssey: a journey or adventure
Tricky Phrasing
This personal narrative by author Patricia Polacco recounts
her early school years. As a child, Patricia struggled to
learn to read. It wasn’t until she was nearly a teenager that
she connected with her teacher, Mr. Falker, who gained her
trust and spent countless hours patiently teaching her to
read. Today, Ms. Polacco’s story shows how important it is
to “Never Give Up.” Mr. Falker’s encouragement and Ms.
Polacco’s perseverance have resulted in dozens of beautiful
books that we can all now enjoy!
Themes
“Have you become a mole?”:
small animal that likes to be
underground & in the dark
“School was all abuzz”:
excitement with everyone
whispering or talking about what is
happening
Discussion Starters
1. Why did grandpa drizzle honey on the book? What did it mean? How did her family feel
about reading?
Family tradition-did it for mother, uncles, brother before her. It was symbolic - The honey is sweet
and so is knowledge but knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey; you have to chase it
through the pages of a book.
Aligned to
Common Standards
Reading: Literature
• Key Ideas and Details
• Integration of Knowledge and
Ideas
Writing
• Text Types and Purposes
• Research to Build and Present
Knowledge
Speaking & Listening
• Comprehension and
Collaboration
• Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Literacy
• Vocabulary Acquisition and
Use
2. As reading got harder and harder for Trisha she chose to do three things instead of reading.
What were they and why do you think she chose each of those things?
1) Drawing - because she was good at it
2) Sitting and Dreaming - inference...it was easy, she could do it
3) Walk with Grandmother - because her grandmother thought she was smart, quick and the dearest
thing.
3. Who influenced and encouraged Trisha? How did they influence her?
Her family, who loved to read books
Kinder friends, who watched her do her magic with the crayons
Mr. Falker (and Miss Plessy), who encouraged her artwork, defended her in front of kids and told
them to stop their laughing, believed she could read and helped her step by step learn to read!
©2014 All for KIDZ®, Inc. Producers of The NED Show® All Rights Reserved
Free lesson plans & resources at www.theNEDshow.com/teachers
© 2014 All for KIDZ®, Inc. Producers of The NED Show® All Rights Reserved •
Thank You, Mr. Falker
by Patricia Polacco
Themes
Writing Prompts
Never Give Up
Determination
Perseverance
Encourage Others
Struggles
Write about something you have struggled to learn? How did you feel when you couldn’t do
it at first? How were you encouraged? What did you do (or can you do) to “never give up”
even when it is difficult? How did you feel as you became better at it?
Emotions
Choose any word from the Emotions Word Slide list (printable) and write about a time you
felt that way. Include specific descriptions of the event and how it impacted your actions
when you felt that way.
Activities
Identifying Changing Emotions
Trisha has many different emotions and feelings throughout the story. Retell the story
by going page by page through the book - asking students to choose a word from their
Emotions Word Slide that best describes how Trisha is feeling at that moment. Remind them
that there isn’t just one right answer. Ask “Why” questions and “What makes you think that”
questions, encouraging students to find evidence in the text or illustrations to support their
responses.
PRINTABLE:
Emotion Words Slide
NOTE: Go through the words on the list to make sure everyone understands each word - allow
students to give you their definitions of these words! Encourage them to add their other words
too! This a great list to keep in their writing journals to help with the overuse of words like happy
and sad in their writing.
Bookmark
Use the printable to create inspiring bookmarks that feature
the following quote from the book:
PRINTABLE:
Sweet Bookmarks
“Honey is sweet and so is knowledge. Knowledge is like the bee
that made sweet honey; you have to chase it through the pages
of the book.” - Patricia Polacco
Resources
Cut out and colour bookmarks. Note: Laminate for extra
durability.
www.theNEDshow.com/lessonplans
is sw
eet an
d so
Kno
is kn
wle
owle
dge.
that dge is lik
mad
e sw e the be
you
eet h
e
have
oney;
to
Honey is sw
chas
the p
e it th
aget
ee
s of
and so is
the b rough
know
led
ook.
PAT
ge.
R IC
KnowledgIA POLAC
e CO
is like the
bee
you have
to
that mad
e sweet hon
ey;
chase it
through
the pages
of the bo
- PAT R I
C
ok.
IA POLA
CC
O -
For more info...
Accelerated Reading Quiz: 27677
Author website: www.patriciapolacco.com
Thank You, Mr. Falker
©2014 All for KIDZ®, Inc. Producers of The NED Show® All Rights Reserved
Free lesson plans & resources at www.theNEDshow.com/teachers
© 2014 All for KIDZ®, Inc. Producers of The NED Show® All
Rights Reserved • www.theNEDshow.com/lessonplans
CUT ALONG DOTTED LINES
Directions: How is Trisha feeling throughout Patricia Polacco’s Thank You, Mr. Falker? Cut out the two
strips and ‘slider’ box. Slide the strips through the
slots on the slider to reveal one word at a time.
Emotion Words Slide
Terrified
Dumb
Sick
________
________
Hopeful
Encouraged
Thankful
________
________
Tortured
Frustrated
Doubtful
Discouraged
Tearful
Sad
Afraid
FOLD
Thrilled
Excited
Joyous
Gleeful
Happy
Safe
Content
CUT ALONG DOTTED LINES
________
________
Th an kf ul
Ho pe fu l
En co uraged
Th ril led
Excited
Jo yo us
Glee fu l
Ha ppy
Safe
Thank You, Mr. Falker
Co nten t
© 2014 All for KIDZ®, Inc. Producers of The NED Show® All
Rights Reserved • www.theNEDshow.com/lessonplans
PATRICIA POLACCO
you have to chase it through
the pages of the book.
Knowledge is like the bee
that made sweet honey;
is sweet and so is knowledge.
- PAT R I C I A P O L ACCO -
of the book.
through the pages
chase it
you have to
that made sweet honey;
is like the bee
Knowledge
and so is knowledge.
Honey is sweet
- Patricia Polacco
Honey
is sweet
and so is
knowledge.
Knowledge
is like
the bee
that made
sweet
honey;
you have
to chase
it through
the pages
of the
book.
Directions
Create bookmarks that feature the inspiring quote from the book.
Thank You, Mr. Falker